I’m a little lost as what this is about, do you just not like the responses from other people on the forum or that you can’t reply?
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I’m not sure what you are looking for however, everyone is trying to help everyone so sometimes you get eerily fast responses. So far everything I’ve seen and read The laser is not powerful enough to cut, engrave, tarnish any metal surface. If there is some sort of coating on it that can be removed the metal however no go.
Also I have absolutely no experience with metal work, however there are number of people who do and all links back to ceremark etc… you can reply on their comment they left for you further down, you can’t reply to the comment directly off of your comment though that is a weird quirk.
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I want an open and honest discussion. One in which unpopular views are discussed as much as the popular ones. So, the answer to the first part of your question is “no”. I want robust debate. The answer to the second part of your question is “yes”. You should ALWAYS be able to reply to any comment, especially one that is made on something you write. To be given only the choices of “abandoning the post”, or “keeping the post” without a 3rd choice of commenting is more than a bit Orwellian.
It sounds like you’re trying to “comment on your comment”, which may not be a feature of the Discourse software itself (which Glowforge uses). Glowforge didn’t write the forum software… but it’s not some attempt to censor, I guarantee you that.
In regards to your attempts to cut any untreated metal with a Glowforge, it just cannot be done. The GF lacks the power output to do it.
You can, however, remove painted material applied to metal without harm. And through using Ceremark or the like, you can ‘bake’ paint onto the metal, again without harm to the metal itself.
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Sorry, I don’t understand how you are unable to comment…
I reread the thread you reference, and I didn’t see any disrespectful comments, just the regulars here offering their understanding of your question, nobody trying to shut you down.
(Just my perception.)
There have been several people who wanted to engrave metals, but didn’t understand that it was only possible to mark them chemically.
There are several references to the procedure in the FAQ’s.
The forum is populated with many skilled, experienced laser users, and is a great source for information.
Your experience added to the total here would be most welcome.
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Hi @sdevadas, I don’t think people meant to come off as they did. They wanted to warn you about the limitations of any CO2 laser. From the description of what you want to do, it sounds like it may not be possible with a 40-45W CO2 laser.
Here is a list from Epilog on the capabilities of CO2 and Fiber lasers to cut/engrave/mark different materials.
https://www.epiloglaser.com/how-it-works/laser-material-compatibility.htm
The problem as I understand it (anyone please correct me if I am wrong) is that metals are reflective at the wavelength the CO2 lasers run at, so you need to put in a lot of power to get minimal effect. And this is not a Glowforge issue. Any CO2 laser at similar power levels will have this same issue.
From looking at the previous thread, it looks like you want to 3D engrave a piece of metal then fill it with acrylic (which honestly sounds like it would be pretty awesome). Unfortunately, a CO2 laser may not be your best bet. I would recommend looking at a milling machine.
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Shills, sycophants and trolls.
People on this site seem to have tried to offer you good solid advice.
Why not listen to to them? They might save you a lot of money on a product you clearly haven’t researched.
Get a refund, this won’t do what you want it to.
Thanks for attempting to explain this, Dan. Still, it is a huge integrity liability that GF needs to address and for which there is no real excuse. Even the very fact that you are able to come back at me now with a comment, whereas I couldn’t even reply to yours is suspect. While I appreciate your assurance, it is not enough. If we’re going to discuss serious issues, then it is the imperative of GF to make sure the site functions properly ALL the time.
Some of these comments and replies are critical to the businesses of individuals like me. Frankly, my concerns are in a bit of a different league than many of the hobbyists that are here.
Thank you for your clarification on the materials, but its a bit more involved than the simple parameters being laid out here. I have dozens of different paths I can take, in terms of material and approach. You’re not understanding what I mean by acrylic fill and I don’t really have time to explain it. While what you say about the materials is true, it does not comprehend the situation.
I regret that you feel disrespected by the discussion on this forum. I agree, at times many of the comments on other posts are less than thoughtful or respectful of the point of view expressed by the original poster. People often include references to the character of the poster rather than to the actual meaning of the post. I find myself tempted to make judgments about the person rather than the post. To me it seems that @jacobturner’s response to your post was pretty good, although it was a leading question and would be disallowed in court. @dan_berry’s response was a little curt, and since it used the word “should” and was blunt, certainly could be perceived as condescending and non-productive. I’ll respond to your original post in that thread.
As to this: [quote=“sdevadas, post:1, topic:1956”]
Namely, it is the presence of shills and suck-ups.
[/quote]
I have yet to perceive a post that represents a shill. I would love to have more Glowforge employees post about their experience but understand the reasons why they aren’t. @dan certainly has been making a hard sell for the product. That makes sense. I don’t know if the original VC backers are on this forum posting without our knowing who they are, that may be. It seems that the cheerleaders for the Glowforge to me are just random folks who are genuinely excited about the product and what they can make with it.They seem to me to be a pretty positive bunch that really do spin everything in the best light. I can’t imagine that Glowforge would even need to use shills to promote the product on the forum. But then, I may have missed something in here. I try to read all the profiles of new forum participants to get a sense of who they are, but sometimes the details are very sparse.
As to sycophants, I can imagine that my posts would be perceived as sucking up. It’s a label I have born most of my life, although in high school it wasn’t quite as elegant a name. They called me “brown noser” and sang the BTO song, “He looked at me with his big brown nose and said, ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet.’” I’ve often thought that it stems from my being the fifth boy and having to try so hard to get noticed by my four older brothers. And yes, sometimes the forum regulars can dog pile on a comment and be less than inviting. There have been a few topics that seemed to devolve into “pro-Glowforge” versus “anti-Glowforge” and not about the merits of the actual topic.
As to this point:
Are you referring to how Discourse works? I am not quite sure. I can click on any comment and reply specifically to that. Yes, all comments appear in a line, one after the other, but you can also see the thread as it develops from comment, to reply, to reply to comment on reply by clicking the grey text at the bottom left of original comment that has something like “2 Replies ^” and will show the replies to a comment in line right below. Is that what you are referring to?
It seems that you have some experience using lasers and would be very helpful to the common effort. I myself will try to help you as I can.
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As a matter of fact, this will not be a hobby machine but an important business tool. Fortunately I’ve had long enough in business to do my research and to plan for contingencies (both talents not enough people invest in).
My business is successful enough that I am considered one of the foremost practitioners in my trade in the country and count government and some of Europes foremost conservation bodies in my client base (indeed they make up the majority of my clients).
I don’t and never have worshiped anything (I am a strict anti-theist).
The difference between you and I, is that I planned for this. You, clearly didn’t
and I would never dream of laying the blame for my own shortcomings at the feet of others.
I wish you luck.
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Sorry if I misunderstood what you are trying to do. I just wanted to make sure you know the limitations. There have been other people who wanted to exclusively do metal cutting/engraving and didn’t realize what the limitations of CO2 laser were. It would suck if you got something that didn’t do what you need it to do.
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No sweat. Thanks, Joe.
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Printo, as I mentioned before its a wider issue. The trigger may have been this thing that Joe mentioned, but the shill-ism issue is much bigger. Take a look at this morning’s comments about the delay and you’ll know what I mean.
For the record: I appreciate those folks who honestly want to help…either technically, or in other aspects. But, I really loathe people who express their support for something in ways that depend upon limiting discussion or suppressing dissent.
Very nice of you to say, Joe. Thanks chum.
I apologize for flagging your response, but I found it extraordinarily condescending. Much in the way you did not wish to be treated. I am sorry. I thought about flagging the whole post, but I don’t want to do that, because you should be able to express your concerns.
Not out of any sense of sycophant-ism. Just desire for respectful communication
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Okay. I was fine with this post up until it was made “personal”. I flagged it as well. The forum really doesn’t need this kind of discussion. Call it censoring if you want, but it’s off-topic at best and insulting at worst.
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If you really need a laser for business “now” then buy one of the ones that are already available like Full Spectrum lasers
I purchased the glowforge pro for business and as a hobby item but I understood there could be delays from the beginning.
The delays are a bummer but nothing can be done about that, better to have a good product then one that doesn’t work correctly.
If you could voice concerns and questions in a way that isn’t dripping with condescension, that would probably go a long way in being heard.
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I agree. I don’t flag, I don’t. Just went a little too far @sdevadas
interestingly enough, in sanskrit Deva means angel/spirit/god/higher power(ideal) and Das means servant. Interesting avatar choice. we may actually have something in common